GAO: Supplements and drugs from China lack regulatory oversight

Only a small percentage of the hundreds of facilities producing drugs and dietary supplement products in China have been inspected by U.S. regulators, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. The implications of such lax regulatory oversight include the importation of dangerous adulterated products and counterfeit drugs into the United States, the Kansas City Star reported Nov. 6.

Only a small percentage of the hundreds of facilities producing drugs and dietary supplement products in China have been inspected by U.S. regulators, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. The implications of such lax regulatory oversight include the importation of dangerous adulterated products and counterfeit drugs into the United States, the Kansas City Star reported Nov. 6.

Consumers are responding by saying they want to know where their products come from, especially if it’s China. “If it is from China, I don’t want to take it,” Harold Olsen of Overland Park, Kansas, told the Kansas City Star. “We should be able to find that out.”

Although country-of-origin labeling is not officially required for dietary supplement products, the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3 (GOED) and the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) are considering asking their members to list the country of origin on all fish oil supplements, many of which hail from China. “We want to provide as much transparency as possible to consumers,” GOED Executive Director Adam Ismail told the Kansas City Star.